tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211670216140060946.post1748804600943983337..comments2015-03-30T10:04:45.382-07:00Comments on Geotripper: A Quiz on Earth History: Can You Pass? A Comment on Science EducationGarry Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00531226195147986457noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211670216140060946.post-21443468816641529072010-11-01T16:41:21.244-07:002010-11-01T16:41:21.244-07:00Ridiculously easy for this mid-second year earth s...Ridiculously easy for this mid-second year earth science major, to the point where I would criticize #13 since Ediacaran period soft-body biota fossils are becoming more abundantly discovered, but you get away with the &#39;hard parts&#39; part of the question; plus #14 is not specific enough to distinguish between paraconformity &amp; disconformity.<br /><br />I can&#39;t comment on the state of American education, as I live to the north. Up here, in my opinion, the problem is less about fundamentalist nonsense polluting the curriculum and more about parceling out education into bits &amp; pieces so that general aptitude is eroding. One thing I dislike seeing is the pervasive fear of mathematics, like it is some crushing force that will drain your soul. Thus you have droves entering humanities &amp; business &amp; arts with the major reason not being that that is their passion, but rather it contains little math. Math can be tough, but only if you don&#39;t put a little extra effort into it and calm down about it. But i guess in an instant-gratification world its place becomes one of avoidance.Vadrosaulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211670216140060946.post-3416774568482446962010-10-25T22:16:47.863-07:002010-10-25T22:16:47.863-07:00It&#39;s not just earth science. It&#39;s science ...It&#39;s not just earth science. It&#39;s science in general. Actually, it&#39;s education in general. In my college earth science classes I often have to give students tips on how to do basic math, how to take notes, how to study, and how to read.<br />Yes, I said how to read.<br />In college.<br />It&#39;s ironic -- we live in a time when we depend on technology, and science plays a giant role in our lives. We can instantly communicate with people anywhere on the planet, and participate in a global economy.<br />And yet:<br />People still believe in pseudoscience and quackery (and disbelieve in science)...<br />Are ignorant of geography...<br />And many of my students can&#39;t write a coherent paragraph in ANY language.<br />The answer is easy to say, but hard to do: we need to make education a bigger priority in this country. And that means real education, not passing standardized tests.Randy A.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211670216140060946.post-58182733058917020962010-10-25T17:35:42.896-07:002010-10-25T17:35:42.896-07:00If geology were presented in high school with the ...If geology were presented in high school with the same rigor as chemistry, this quiz would be easy to ace. So clearly it isn&#39;t, and I would place the blame on the curriculum. This brings me to the long crusade by Eldridge Moores to get HS geology accepted as a college-qualifying lab course. Moores told me in August that he has given up trying to budge the dinosaurs on the board about this.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17369367151045054784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211670216140060946.post-38620187953963305742010-10-25T10:58:38.120-07:002010-10-25T10:58:38.120-07:00Missed #6. Agree that earth sci education is disas...Missed #6. Agree that earth sci education is disastrous, and even when attempts to teach it are made, coverage is lousy and largely irrelevant- both to the actual science and to students&#39; lives. There are historical reasons for this, dating back to the 1800&#39;s, which I should put together and write up sometime. But I would argue that geology and the earth sciences are both more accessible and more important to decision-making in today&#39;s world than most people realize.Lockwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05960762797349483760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211670216140060946.post-90685575077046357402010-10-25T08:23:44.689-07:002010-10-25T08:23:44.689-07:00I only got 4 wrong, not too bad.
I&#39;m happily...I only got 4 wrong, not too bad. <br /><br />I&#39;m happily surprised that when I talk geologic time at the canyon there is rarely any argument. Most people get it, young and old, at least the basics.<br /><br />I didn&#39;t get earth science in the early years of education. And by the time I studied it in college there were many changes. I don&#39;t think it should be limiting to say, &quot;Scientists believe....&quot; any more than the closed minded having their own belief.<br /><br />Good test.Gaelynhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05784162697113288888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211670216140060946.post-32567262950715174052010-10-25T06:41:43.504-07:002010-10-25T06:41:43.504-07:00I think you&#39;re pretty spot on in regards to th...I think you&#39;re pretty spot on in regards to the education. Hell, about 15-20 years ago, in the school system I went through there wasn&#39;t an Earth science course to be had after junior high if you were in the college preparatory track. (Which is why getting a degree in geology just never even occurred to me at the time.) It seems to have gone downhill since then, particularly at lower income schools. My friend that was teaching at an extremely poor grade school told me that science (along with art, music, and PE) was something they simply did not get to teach because it took time away from trying to get the kids ready to score well on the standardized tests. Thanks, No Child Left Behind.Rachaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09945237846384318979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5211670216140060946.post-80228278728781615662010-10-25T00:55:38.172-07:002010-10-25T00:55:38.172-07:001 c
2 b
3 a
4 d
5 a
6 b
7 a
8 e
9 d
10 f
11 d
12 d...1 c<br />2 b<br />3 a<br />4 d<br />5 a<br />6 b<br />7 a<br />8 e<br />9 d<br />10 f<br />11 d<br />12 d<br />13 b<br />14 a<br />How&#39;d you do?Garry Hayeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00531226195147986457noreply@blogger.com